Dancing
by UtterlyBonkers
Summary: The most memorable and beautiful moments in Severus and Lily's life together somehow always involved dancing. Reviews are highly appreciated!
1. Forgive me

Dancing.

There was a light breeze carrying the lazy summer rain through the empty, winding streets, across the neglected green, breathing life to the lonely swings on the playground, breaking the long forgotten silence of the grey river and ruffling the leaves of the big oak tree by the riverbank. The rain soaked the old tree; droplets caressed the rough wood, dwelled in its creaks and caressed two letters etched into the bark; gaining speed in the curves of the "S" and slowing to a short halt in the straight lines of the "L", before drowning into the earth below. The world was lost of all color; a blanket of grey.

A boy of fifteen years was not. He was a man with a purpose and he was not grey. His slim suit clinging to his slender form was black; his deep eyes were black and his black hair was made even darker by the rain. A hand reaches up; pushing back the long hair and revealing what could be seen as a handsome face, if only seen with the right eyes. His clothes are wet, his world is dark, but his back is straight and his stride confident.

A neat little house comes into vision. Drenched in dripping grey and hugged by a garden filled with cold, it welcomes him with an unfamiliar hostility. Without hesitation the boy crosses enemy lines in long strides and black meets grey as he knocks on the door, firmly, three times.

The grey is turning dark; the rain is getting heavy and the sudden ringing silence suffocating its surroundings. Still, the figure at the door is rank and unaffected, until the front door opens and he is enveloped in color and warmth. The radiating figure in front of him stands quite still, her expression slightly perplexed as she contemplates him apprehensively. The color of her hair sets fire to the rain and the depths of her green eyes hold the colors of his existence.

"What do you want?"

"Dance with me."

The honest simplicity of his words seemed to rid all anger and sorrow from her features. Her rigid figure eases and her expression softens; she is at a loss and her guard is crumbling. He offers his hand and she takes it. Raindrops paint her freckled skin as he leads her out into the garden. Never taking his eyes off her, he reaches behind her back and closes the distance between them. His other hand entwines with hers. Questions and uncertainty traces her expression, leaving a light crease between her eyes.

Slowly they start moving to an unknown, invisible melody, her gaze locked on his face. Then all sound is extinguished and all she can hear is a familiar tune grabbing hold of her. His eyes are closed and his face turned slightly to the side. Water is pouring down her face, clinging to her hair and soaking her to the skin. But the redheaded girl can do nothing but close her eyes as her uncertainties are replaced with treasured childhood memories. As they move to his tune she leans her head against his, and he pulls her close.

He then turns to her and their eyes meet. His confidence is lost, his determination withering, and all that is left is utter honesty, sadness, and hope. Neither of them notices that they stop moving as his deep voice breaks the silence:

"I know you  
>Haven't made<br>Your mind up yet  
>But I would never<br>Do you wrong  
>I've known it<br>From the moment  
>That we met<br>No doubt in my mind  
>Where you belong"<p>

Small clouds form as they breathe heavily, eyes locked onto each other. Her face is expressionless and she stops breathing as his intense, vulnerable gaze is boring into her.

"Forgive me."


	2. Treasure what you treasure most

_Treasure what you treasure most._

The sky was screaming as heavy twisting clouds swam across its dark blue fields, pulling it towards the ground. Battling with increasing intensity, the storm roared with thunder and battered the earth below with its hard and unforgiving rains. The trees creaked and groaned under the powerful wind and entire woods seemed so to kneel down in submission, praying for mercy.

Lily Evans recalled that she had never thought much of prayers as she watched ancient proud trees giving in to the forces now ravaging the once familiar landscape surrounding her. The sound of the rain hammering against the window extinguished itself from the deafening roars pressing in on her and crushing down on her little old house. Through her own blurred reflection she watched the havoc that was created with such utter expertise, a form of destruction so powerful and so far from anything she had ever seen, and she found that she could not for the life of her keep the thoughts of prayer out of her mind. Safely situated inside her own living room she stood steadfast by the fragile glass separating her from the raging forces outside; her arms hugging her body, her gaze steady. As her world, defiantly and bravely, faced the overpowering rage and was brought down around her all she could do, and the least she could do, was watch.

Had it not been that these extreme and unnatural autumn storms had at this point become part of their everyday lives, she would have been terrified. At first fear had threatened to overcome her, but she knew better now than to give in to such luxuries. As the world continued to grow dark and alien around them they had to hold on to what was still familiar, treasure what they treasured most, stand their ground and try not to lose themselves along the way.

Lost in her own thoughts she had not heard him come into the room. He silenced his steps and stood quite still; surveying the scene, etching it into his memory. They were still trying to move into their new home, but without much time on their hands the process had been a rather slow one. The half-empty living room was bathed in a warm comforting light from a crackling fire. An old sofa was situated in front of the fireplace and the floor beneath it was covered in a big burgundy rug, lonely, from the lack of a coffee table. The wall beside the fireplace, closest to the window, was supporting a battered wooden bookcase that was packed with books of all shapes and sizes. On the other side of the fireplace the wall was naked. The floor, however, was covered in a most wonderful discovery of his: vinyl records. A beautiful old record player sitting on the wooden floor was surrounded by stacks and stacks of old vinyl records.

And then there was she. As he lets his gaze rest on her slender figure a content smile reaches his eyes and familiar warmth spread through his body. He can feel his worries blurring and his mind clearing; as long as she was with him it would be okay; with her at his side he felt like he could take on the world. The scene in front of him is complete, flawless, just like he would have ever wanted his life to be and he silently wishes it could stay like this forever. His eyes close as he lets the image burn into his memory; stored in the depths of his mind for a time he might need it. Treasure what you treasure most.

He often found her like this, lost in thought, staring at the storms outside, and he knew what she was thinking; what they were all thinking. They had always known of the darkness looming over their future, they had always felt it. But now the future was drawing near and the darkness descending on to their naïve and innocent world. At first she had cried and he had dried her eyes and held her. But she didn't cry anymore; not with tears that he could wipe away with his hands. Now she stood there facing her fears with both sorrow and anger burning in her eyes; confident and brave.

As he makes his way towards her she turns her head. Meeting his gaze she gives him a mild smile and lets out a small sigh. Kind dark eyes look knowingly into hers; his hand reaches up and carefully tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and they don't have to say a word. He rests his hand on her cheek and caresses her freckled skin; she lets her head rest against his palm and closes her eyes. A thundering silence envelopes them for a very little peaceful while; before a white hot light splays the sky; screaming at this horrific scene. He kisses her head; drawing a deep breath and letting her smell intoxicate him, before releasing her and letting her gaze drift towards the window once again.

As he kneels down to examine the vinyl records spread out on the floor his long black hair falls into his face. He pushes it out of his eyes before picking up a record, sliding the vinyl out of its cover and fitting it on to the player. Scratching trumpet sound drives the raging storm from his mind as he stands up, looking at the red headed woman. Even before she turns around he can see her smiling and giving a silent little laugh at this silly man of hers. A laughing smile paints her face, raised eyebrows laughingly questioning his silliness; seriously? He answers by raising his shoulders a little and putting on an innocent face; what?

Ella's warm voice fills the air as he slowly makes his way towards her. Putting on a want-to-be-seductive, supposed-to-be-passionate look, he sways slowly to the music with each step, his deep slightly terrible singing blending in with the music. The look on her face falters his song a tiny second and a breathy laugh accompanied by a small grin escapes him and ruining his goofy-but-dead-serious act entirely. However, he recovers quickly and continues his song:

"Stars shining bright above you  
>night breezes seem to whisper<p>

I love you  
>Birds singin' in the sycamore tree<p>

Dream a little dream of me".

He stretches out his arm as he is closing in and offers his hand. Laughing, she takes his hand and he starts humming along to the next verse of the song as he slowly twirls her around, watching a brilliant smile grace her beautiful features. He then holds her at the length of his arm, pausing for a second while her smiling eyes captivate him from the other side of his outstretched arm; before he slowly twirl her back into his arms. She leans her back against his chest as she hugs the strong arms holding her tight. Their bodies close together, they move slowly to the soft music; her head leans to the side to rests against his. He continues humming the song against her hair as he closes his eyes and savors the moment. They stay like this until his scratchy voice again blends in with now both Louis' and Ella's voices. Though, this time, all goofiness has left his voice and every word he murmurs to her is honest and true:

"Sweet dreams till sun beams find you

sweet dreams that leave our worries behind you.  
>But in your dreams<br>whatever they be

dream a little dream of me".

They continue their dance in silence; letting the words sink in. He then turns her around; one hand reaching behind her back to pull her close; the other holding onto her hand. As they slowly move together they gaze into each other's eyes where laughter and ease are replaced by gravity and desperate hope. She rests her head against his shoulder; closing her eyes and burying her face against his neck. He kisses her hair, rests his chin against her head and looks out at the fuming storm. Blackness stains the glass protecting them and even though he cannot hear the howling wind he can still feel the thundering forces raging around them; looming over them. A sickeningly white light throws itself at them as lightening tears at the bottomless sky, reaches in to them and illuminates their entwined figures. He keeps his back straight and his gaze steady as he tightens his hold on the girl in his arms and stares back into the furious darkness in front of him.


	3. Snowflakes

Snowflakes.

She sat in the comfy armchair by the window and watched the first snow fall slowly from the cold heavens. It was a rare moment of peace and calm in the middle of the constant war now raging around them all; tearing at every aspect of their lives and slowly draining each and every one of them. The snowflakes fell so slowly that one could almost distinguish their each and every pattern and they touched the ground so softly that the world went quiet so as not to disturb them. It seemed that this one moment of peace was made especially for them; to remind them of what they had and what they were fighting for. One moment, and she was missing it. She had been sick for weeks and the fight was going out of her. She felt cold and empty as she rested her head on the back of the chair and stared out at the rare beauty that felt so very out of reach. Sadness and hopelessness had started to trace lines on the young face and the fire that usually radiated from her and burned in her green eyes were fading and distant. Always, she had been strong. Always, she had kept her back straight and her face brave. But sometimes your guard falls, even crumbles, and all you can do is hope that no one is around to see. The last weeks she had been picturing her childhood Christmases; tried to convert the happy warmth from those memories into her own body and mind. It didn't work. Then she had tried to picture how their future Christmases would have been in a different world; a peaceful place. This had made her sad, and she stopped. It was all just so hard and all she wanted to do was cry, but she didn't. They didn't have time to stop, least of all cry. All they could do was keep going, without knowing how. The snow was falling more heavily now and quieted her thoughts.

He made his way up the small lane leading up to their little old house. A heavy burden lay on his shoulders and weighed him down with each step he took. It was a burden that could not be described by anyone, but was shared with everyone. His mind was clouded by silent despair and, despite of being utterly empty, he felt heavy. The snow had started to fall as he was tracing the familiar route through the dense forest; his gaze turned downwards; hiding his strained features as he made his way home. But as the white flakes caught his eye he silenced his steps, straightened his back and squared his shoulders. With his gaze turned skywards he followed every snowflake with his eyes and felt each cold caress on his naked pale face. He stood very still in the middle of the lane, closed his eyes and took a deep ice-cold breath that filled his lungs to the breaking-point. For the first time in a long time he could breathe freely again; his chest heaved as he craved the cold night air. How this lone sensation could affect him so, he did not know. But all the same; he could feel his burden lifting and his mind clearing. As the snow fell thickly about his dark figure a smile spread across his face and with it came a warm feeling of contentment and a reason to smile. He had thought that such feelings had been driven out of his life, never to be retrieved, and was overwhelmed. Suddenly, he found himself laughing merrily and running along the lane towards the clearing and the little old house that lay there.

She sat in the very same position in her armchair by the window. Her eyes were closed and she was listening to the heavy silence surrounding her. The depressing air that had resided in their home the last few months was utterly shattered as he came stumbling into the living room; covered from head to toe in snow and sporting a most brilliant smile. With him came a fresh smell of cold and pine-trees that once would have comforted her and brought a smile to her face. But they had stopped smiling a long time ago, and her features showed only confusion. However, she did not have much time to dwell on the sudden change of mood that was about envelope them both. Within seconds she was bundled up in scarves, mittens, a woolen hat, blankets and an oversized coat and literally swept off her feet and into the arms of this suddenly energetic and joyous man of hers. Soon they were racing down the front steps and she was still too confused to have made some sort of retort to this treatment. She were never able to form words of any sort as they had now entered the snowflake-decorated garden and her distant green eyes were met by those dark eyes; now filled with kind, warm laughter. These were eyes she had not seen in quite some time and she was reminded of how it was to fall in love. He smiled at the confused face of the woman in his arms, closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he once again turned his gaze towards the white sky. She watched the air freeze as he exhaled and the frost smoke drew her attention towards the iced beauty around them; how the snow was already starting to weigh down the branches of the big old cherry tree; the way the ground sparkled in the blue moonlight; and the absence of darkness as the white powdery snow blanketed their surroundings and lit up the night. He drank in her beautiful face as he followed her reaction and knew, when she turned her eyes back towards him, that she could feel her own smile glowing. She closed her eyes contently, took a deep breath and let the warm air freeze in a glittering icy wave of smoke.

For no reason at all, for not having a reason, and for not needing one; they started to laugh. As they looked into each others' brilliant faces they laughed so hard that frost smoke blurred their features. She tightened her hold around his neck and enjoyed the feeling of his soft black hair between her fingers; he held the red headed girl even closer and felt the comforting weight of her body against his. The warm air froze on their flushed cheeks as they kissed, as if for the first time. He slowly started to twirl around and around; faster and faster, and soon they were both howling with laughter. While facing the skies with laugher of joyous bliss, they created a whirlwind of snowflakes with their dance. At this pace they were in danger of falling to the ground at any moment, but they knew better now, than to let the fear of it grab hold of them. It's important to enjoy the little things in life, because sometimes that's all we've got. Sometimes one should just enjoy the snowflakes.


End file.
